What was The Battle of Gettysburg fought over?
Well, the popular literature says “shoes” (as in Heth’s Division went to Gettysburg in search of shoes, bumped into Buford’s cavalry, got their dander up and refused to disengage and one thing led to another). But it’s not quite that simple, especially since Confederate and Union forces had already been through Gettysburg before Heth’s boys bumped into Buford’s dismounted cavalry. 1. Jefferson Davis knew Vicksburg was in trouble. He wanted to take Longstreet and his Corps from Lee and send it West to help relieve Vicksburg. Lee, didn’t want to give up any of his men, even though Vicksburg was probably the single most important battle of the Civil War–it’s fall guaranteed that the South would lose the war. 2. So Lee concocted a plan where he would take the ANV north across the Potomac. He was to gather supplies, threaten Washington, take on the Army of the Potomac in battle and then deliver a letter to Lincoln proposing a peace. Lee came up with this plan in order to avoid giving up an
